Pesah

"Next year in the land of Israel. Next year, free people.""Leshana Haba'ah
Be'arah De yisrael. Leshana haba'ah Benei Horeen"

This paragraph of the Haggadah
seems to be structured out of order. It should first deal with attaining freedom,
and then take care of moving to Israel! First one becomes able, then he acts.

In fact, the Haggadah is pointing out the first stages of freedom – Israel –
is not just a physical plot of land, but rather an environment where Jews can fully
express their Judaism. To be truly free, the place we live has to be conducive to
genuine self expression.

Our environment affects and manipulates us in ways we cannot even imagine. Take
something as simple as clothing. True, you make the final choice. But all clothing
design is really someone else's taste and even the designer is building upon last
year's fashions.

To be free, you have to create the environment that will guide you toward that
goal. Freedom of speech and freedom of action may be "license," but they don't necessarily
create guidance. Letting people say or do whatever they want is not "freedom". Guidance
is not brainwashing. Guidance is showing and suggesting. Guidance is about helping
others find fulfillment.

We think of American society as free because people have the "freedom" to find
their own fulfillment. In practice, however, few find their meaningful path of purposeful
living. This indicates that slavery, in one form or another, is alive and well in
the 21st century.

Values are not restrictions on a person's nature; they are its building blocks.
By consciously not telling a growing child what are good values, you are raising
him in an environment that will leave him morally inept to eventually choose what's
right.

Good values are a lot like good paintings. You don't teach people art by hiding
them from the great works – but rather by exposing them to the best, so they may
learn to do better. Can you imagine where science would be today if each new student
had to rediscover everything?

The first step in freedom is to create a free environment – with all that Israel
is supposed to stand for. We do that not by removing all values, but only by removing
the bad values. Within that environment, we can perfect ourselves to be truly free.